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Campus Security: only an illusion of authority?
Peace officer status a matter of contention
By Marc Igler
Assistant City Editor
Take away their golden badges, their intimidating revolvers and their staid beige uniforms and the image that once bespoke authority is actually nothing more than an illusion.
University Security officers are merely an organized group of private citizens. They are not. as many believe, police officers, and those within the department who are willing to discuss this situation say it has
brought with it a host of accompanying problems.
The most persistent problem is that the force must fight crime in one of Los Angeles’s most dangerous sections without sufficient power to enforce the law. It copes with this obstacle through methods that frequently fall on the outer fringes of legality and are occasionally illegal.
As a result, crime reports are falsified to protect the university in court, the officers say.
Officers interviewed by the
Daily Trojan complained that, in the final analysis. University Security is run by administrators who have little or no practical experience in law enforcement.
Police officer status is imperative to successfully combat crime, the officers say. They assert that the administration will not acknowledge this claim in an attempt to protect the university’s image.
Several University Security officers have agreed to speak out on this issue because
“somebody’s got to say something,” as one officer put it. They have all requested anonymity, fearing reprisals from the university that they believe could ultimately cost them their jobs.
They have been repeatedly told by their superiors not to discuss the details of their job. They have also been sternly instructed not to voice their opinion of how the university is handling the matter of granting them police officer status.
The officers claim that the administration is ignoring the issue, and in reality, does not want an actual police force on campus for a number of reasons. “It’s either that or they don’t understand the gravity of the situation,” one officer said.
Top-ranking administrators say they understand the problem and generally favor the idea. But they say it is a complex issue and that a decision should not be made until a comprehensive evaluation has been completed.
“It sounds very simple, but it isn't.” said Jon Strauss, senior vice president of administration. “We’re moving very cautiously, and there is no timetable for a final decision.”
The officers say that they have been hearing that explanation for years but have never seen any decisive action. They say that they still cannot adequately deal with the crime problem in the university’s area and are no better off today than they were in 1977 when the issue was at its forefront.
Historical Background
Turning the University Security force into an actual police department is an issue that has been simmering for years in the decision-making chambers of the university.
The history of the situation actually dates back to the late 1960s. In 1967 a special commission of the Los Angeles Police Department granted the officers of University Security the power and status of peace officers.
But in 1972, the LAPD commission revoked its earlier decision. and University Security
was relagated back to the law enforcement status of private citizens.
It was a confusing episode, compounded by the LAPD’s refusal to offer any detailed reasons for the decision. The only explanation was found in a memo to the commission in which the university was cited as one of the main abusers of the special officer status they were granted five years earlier.
In 1977 many officers in University Security formed an association within the department. Feeling that there was power in numbers, the officers thought the association would be an effective vehicle for looking after their concerns.
In February 1978. the officer’s association filed a complaint with the California Department of Consumer Affairs. The complaint alleged that the officers were being forced by the department to exceed their legal powers as security guards and that the university had been unresponsive to their position.
Nothing ever came of the complaint although the department of consumer affairs did investigate. For one reason or another, almost all the officers in the association have since left the department.
Two months later, an article by a security officer appeared in the Daily Trojan. The article outlined the compromising position that the officers felt they were in.
The officer, whose name was not given, wrote. “I am tired of being told to violate the state penal code or be terminated. I am tired of seeing fellow officers being ‘hung out to dry’ by Campus Security when complaints come in about the officer’s conduct even when the officer was doing as he had been told.”
Limited Roles
The options that a private security guard has at his disposal in fighting crime are very limited. The role is defined by the LAPD as “defensive” and "passive” — to observe and (Continued on page 2)
trojan
Volume XCII, Number 23 University of Southern California Thursday, October 7, 1982
Republicans will be losers in election says political writer
By George Aguilar
Assistant City Editor
Despite the sophisticated technology and cam-paign tactics being used in this year’s general election, one of the country’s most respected political columnists said that issues will decide the election and the Republican party will be a big loser.
Robert Novak, newspaper columnist and national television commentator, made those observations Tuesday night in a lecture to students in the political science class, “Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections,” taught by Joseph Cer-relL
"Ideas and issues do matter in politics,” Novak said, adding that in the Nov. 2 election, issues and votes will be on the side of the Democratic party.
“It means the Republicans are going to lose 30 to 35 seats in the House of Representatives,” predicated Novak, who, with partner Rowland Evans, writes a column titled “Inside Report.” which appears in over 250 newspapers across the country, and a bi-weekly political newsletter. “The Evans-Novak Political Report.”
“The Senate is going to end up with the Republicans losing one or two seats and it could be worse. That’s a catastrophe for Republicans, considering when you compare the number of Democrats up for re-election (20 out of 33 senators and 243 out of 435 congressmen).
“This is going to be one of the worst Republi-
can years, assuming the Democrats have any kind of success in getting out the vote,” he said.
However, the election is not without hope for President Reagan's party, Novak said. Republicans have a much larger treasure of campaign funds than their Democratic counterparts, and a personally popular leader in Reagan.
Novak, who also co-hosts a weekly half-hour show on Cable News Network, discounted the theory that Republicans have better success campaigning than Democrats.
“Just because you have a lot of money, doesn’t mean you will spend it wisely.”
The electorate, Novak believes, will see through the expensive campaign advertising and concentrate on the issues of high unemployment, high interest rates and an ongoing recession.
“The crux and the basis of this campaign is that 10 percent of the population who seek work cannot find jobs and the other 90 percent are affected by a recession,” he said.
The current Republican campaign theme of staying with the president's economic recovery plan will not work well with voters. Novak said.
There are other problems within the Republican ranks, said Novak, whose latest book is titled. The Reagan Revolution. He said the party still subscribes to the Arthur Laffer (an economic professor at the university) “deep root canal way of economic thought.
"If it hurts enough, it will be good enough for (Continued on page 5)
Alumni Park bash marks university’s 102nd birthday
By Ellen Plotkin
Staff Writer
Stereophonic sounds of the rock group Sparks flowed throughout Alumni Park Wednesday afternoon, while students, some covered in egg yolk and pie crumbs, took time out from studying to celebrate the university’s 102 birthday.
The Helenes, a university service organization, has sponsored and organized Founders Day for the past two years.
There were several different games going on around the park, but the "dunk tank” attracted the most people.
While one person sat on a metal bench inside a cage, students lined up to throw baseballs at a target in an attempt to knock the person into a tub of water.
Most students threw the ball over the cage or into the crowd, but several participants hit the target.
Then students, tired of watching people get dunked, walked over to the "hairy legs” contest.
The crowd judged the competition with yells for the best pair of legs.
Despite the name of the contest, two girls entered. Both times the girls received the loudest yells from the crowd, which mostly consisted of men. J
For the really adventurous students, a pie-eating contest was held.
The winner. Tony Milan, a graduate student in electrical engineering, lifted his crumb-covered face up from the pie tin 90 seconds after the race started.
(Continued on page 5)
Staff photo by Jon Soo Hoo
WHO USES NAIR? — These students, on display, were participating in yesterday's Founders Day hairy legs contest Other activities included a dunk tank, egg toss, sack race and pie -eating contest

Campus Security: only an illusion of authority?
Peace officer status a matter of contention
By Marc Igler
Assistant City Editor
Take away their golden badges, their intimidating revolvers and their staid beige uniforms and the image that once bespoke authority is actually nothing more than an illusion.
University Security officers are merely an organized group of private citizens. They are not. as many believe, police officers, and those within the department who are willing to discuss this situation say it has
brought with it a host of accompanying problems.
The most persistent problem is that the force must fight crime in one of Los Angeles’s most dangerous sections without sufficient power to enforce the law. It copes with this obstacle through methods that frequently fall on the outer fringes of legality and are occasionally illegal.
As a result, crime reports are falsified to protect the university in court, the officers say.
Officers interviewed by the
Daily Trojan complained that, in the final analysis. University Security is run by administrators who have little or no practical experience in law enforcement.
Police officer status is imperative to successfully combat crime, the officers say. They assert that the administration will not acknowledge this claim in an attempt to protect the university’s image.
Several University Security officers have agreed to speak out on this issue because
“somebody’s got to say something,” as one officer put it. They have all requested anonymity, fearing reprisals from the university that they believe could ultimately cost them their jobs.
They have been repeatedly told by their superiors not to discuss the details of their job. They have also been sternly instructed not to voice their opinion of how the university is handling the matter of granting them police officer status.
The officers claim that the administration is ignoring the issue, and in reality, does not want an actual police force on campus for a number of reasons. “It’s either that or they don’t understand the gravity of the situation,” one officer said.
Top-ranking administrators say they understand the problem and generally favor the idea. But they say it is a complex issue and that a decision should not be made until a comprehensive evaluation has been completed.
“It sounds very simple, but it isn't.” said Jon Strauss, senior vice president of administration. “We’re moving very cautiously, and there is no timetable for a final decision.”
The officers say that they have been hearing that explanation for years but have never seen any decisive action. They say that they still cannot adequately deal with the crime problem in the university’s area and are no better off today than they were in 1977 when the issue was at its forefront.
Historical Background
Turning the University Security force into an actual police department is an issue that has been simmering for years in the decision-making chambers of the university.
The history of the situation actually dates back to the late 1960s. In 1967 a special commission of the Los Angeles Police Department granted the officers of University Security the power and status of peace officers.
But in 1972, the LAPD commission revoked its earlier decision. and University Security
was relagated back to the law enforcement status of private citizens.
It was a confusing episode, compounded by the LAPD’s refusal to offer any detailed reasons for the decision. The only explanation was found in a memo to the commission in which the university was cited as one of the main abusers of the special officer status they were granted five years earlier.
In 1977 many officers in University Security formed an association within the department. Feeling that there was power in numbers, the officers thought the association would be an effective vehicle for looking after their concerns.
In February 1978. the officer’s association filed a complaint with the California Department of Consumer Affairs. The complaint alleged that the officers were being forced by the department to exceed their legal powers as security guards and that the university had been unresponsive to their position.
Nothing ever came of the complaint although the department of consumer affairs did investigate. For one reason or another, almost all the officers in the association have since left the department.
Two months later, an article by a security officer appeared in the Daily Trojan. The article outlined the compromising position that the officers felt they were in.
The officer, whose name was not given, wrote. “I am tired of being told to violate the state penal code or be terminated. I am tired of seeing fellow officers being ‘hung out to dry’ by Campus Security when complaints come in about the officer’s conduct even when the officer was doing as he had been told.”
Limited Roles
The options that a private security guard has at his disposal in fighting crime are very limited. The role is defined by the LAPD as “defensive” and "passive” — to observe and (Continued on page 2)
trojan
Volume XCII, Number 23 University of Southern California Thursday, October 7, 1982
Republicans will be losers in election says political writer
By George Aguilar
Assistant City Editor
Despite the sophisticated technology and cam-paign tactics being used in this year’s general election, one of the country’s most respected political columnists said that issues will decide the election and the Republican party will be a big loser.
Robert Novak, newspaper columnist and national television commentator, made those observations Tuesday night in a lecture to students in the political science class, “Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections,” taught by Joseph Cer-relL
"Ideas and issues do matter in politics,” Novak said, adding that in the Nov. 2 election, issues and votes will be on the side of the Democratic party.
“It means the Republicans are going to lose 30 to 35 seats in the House of Representatives,” predicated Novak, who, with partner Rowland Evans, writes a column titled “Inside Report.” which appears in over 250 newspapers across the country, and a bi-weekly political newsletter. “The Evans-Novak Political Report.”
“The Senate is going to end up with the Republicans losing one or two seats and it could be worse. That’s a catastrophe for Republicans, considering when you compare the number of Democrats up for re-election (20 out of 33 senators and 243 out of 435 congressmen).
“This is going to be one of the worst Republi-
can years, assuming the Democrats have any kind of success in getting out the vote,” he said.
However, the election is not without hope for President Reagan's party, Novak said. Republicans have a much larger treasure of campaign funds than their Democratic counterparts, and a personally popular leader in Reagan.
Novak, who also co-hosts a weekly half-hour show on Cable News Network, discounted the theory that Republicans have better success campaigning than Democrats.
“Just because you have a lot of money, doesn’t mean you will spend it wisely.”
The electorate, Novak believes, will see through the expensive campaign advertising and concentrate on the issues of high unemployment, high interest rates and an ongoing recession.
“The crux and the basis of this campaign is that 10 percent of the population who seek work cannot find jobs and the other 90 percent are affected by a recession,” he said.
The current Republican campaign theme of staying with the president's economic recovery plan will not work well with voters. Novak said.
There are other problems within the Republican ranks, said Novak, whose latest book is titled. The Reagan Revolution. He said the party still subscribes to the Arthur Laffer (an economic professor at the university) “deep root canal way of economic thought.
"If it hurts enough, it will be good enough for (Continued on page 5)
Alumni Park bash marks university’s 102nd birthday
By Ellen Plotkin
Staff Writer
Stereophonic sounds of the rock group Sparks flowed throughout Alumni Park Wednesday afternoon, while students, some covered in egg yolk and pie crumbs, took time out from studying to celebrate the university’s 102 birthday.
The Helenes, a university service organization, has sponsored and organized Founders Day for the past two years.
There were several different games going on around the park, but the "dunk tank” attracted the most people.
While one person sat on a metal bench inside a cage, students lined up to throw baseballs at a target in an attempt to knock the person into a tub of water.
Most students threw the ball over the cage or into the crowd, but several participants hit the target.
Then students, tired of watching people get dunked, walked over to the "hairy legs” contest.
The crowd judged the competition with yells for the best pair of legs.
Despite the name of the contest, two girls entered. Both times the girls received the loudest yells from the crowd, which mostly consisted of men. J
For the really adventurous students, a pie-eating contest was held.
The winner. Tony Milan, a graduate student in electrical engineering, lifted his crumb-covered face up from the pie tin 90 seconds after the race started.
(Continued on page 5)
Staff photo by Jon Soo Hoo
WHO USES NAIR? — These students, on display, were participating in yesterday's Founders Day hairy legs contest Other activities included a dunk tank, egg toss, sack race and pie -eating contest